Nudists and whale vomit
Home » Blog » Annabel McAleer » Nudists and whale vomitInteresting times on Wellington's beaches
It's an interesting day for the Wellington district councils ... and Wellington beach-lovers, who today get to choose between tearing all their clothes off, or joining the crowd surrounding a giant block of what may or may not be cheese that has washed up on Welligton's south coast. Some brave Wellingtonians may even wish to try both at the same time.
First, the nudists. A proposal to allow nude bathing at Kapiti Coast beaches has received so many complaints the district council's email system has crashed, reports the Herald.
Councillor Tony Jack said he believed it had been the hottest issue the council had to face for some time.
It had generated about five times the discussion sparked earlier this year when a community board member wore a Ku Klux Klan costume to a council meeting, he told The Dominion Post.
Ku Klux Klan costume? Eh? If Wellingtonians can tolerate that, it's difficult to imagine why they would get their knickers in a twist over those who prefer not to wear any.
Meanwhile, a 500 kilogram object resembling a gigantic brie cheese has washed up at Breaker Bay. The Herald reports:
Wellington harbourmaster Mike Pryce told the paper there were no "cheese boats" in the area and no ships had sunk recently.
Cheese boats?! Is there something in the water in Wellington? (Aside from giganitc blocks of cheese, that is.)
It turns out that Wellington's cheese pollution problem may in fact be whale vomit—also known as the extremely valuable perfume ingredient, ambergris. If so, the cheesy flotsam may be worth as much as half-a-million dollars.
City council officials and staff from the Wellington Regional Council are meeting this morning to discuss what to do with their vomity bonanza. The officials may or may not be naked, or wearing Ku Klux Klan outifts.
